Bio-IT FAIR Data Hackathon

May 18 – 19, 2026 in Boston, MA

The Bio-IT World Hackathon is a cornerstone of the Bio-IT World Conference & Expo, bringing together data scientists, software developers, and life science professionals to tackle real-world data challenges. Focused on Open Source and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) principles, this two-day event fosters innovation and collaboration to deliver practical solutions.

Hackathon Sponsor:

What to Expect in 2026:

The 2026 hackathon will continue to unite life science and technical professionals to address pressing data challenges using Open Source and FAIR Data approaches. Facilitated by leaders from the NIH Common Fund Data Ecosystem (CFDE), this year’s event will focus on projects leveraging omics data and integrating CFDE tools, improving interoperability across datasets to accelerate discoveries.

The CFDE ensures Common Fund data is accessible and reusable, providing researchers with a centralized online platform for integrating multiple resources seamlessly while enabling new insights and scalable solutions.

Why Participate?

• Compete for Prizes and Recognition – Multiple prizes of up to $5,000 will be awarded to top teams for innovative, high-impact solutions that advance open science and biomedical data reuse.
• Solve Real-World Challenges – Address critical data problems using Open Source and FAIR principles.
• Collaborate with Experts – Partner with peers of various backgrounds to develop workflows, tools and analysis pipelines that advance biomedical discovery.
• Gain Hands-On Experience – Work with cutting-edge technologies in bioinformatics, AI, and cloud-based data analysis.

The hackathon is free and in-person only.

How to Get Involved:

* Limited travel funds are available for individuals who need support and are willing to serve as team leads on selected projects.

Project Highlights from Past Hackathons:

• 2025 Example Projects  
• GlycoEnzyme Expression Atlas: Linking Differential Expression to Pathway Dysregulation
• DrugCentral Based Review and Profiles of Targets for Approved Drugs
• Mapping Disease at the Cellular Level with HuBMAP
• Unraveling Exercise Resilience: Multi-Omics Meets Machine Learning
• Interactive Analysis with Biological Pathways
• FAIR Maturity Matrix Assessment: The DATA Dimension
• Mapping Immune States in SLE: A FAIR Pipeline for Integrating Spatial, Single-Cell, and Flow Cytometry Data
• 2023 Example Projects
• Gene Trends
• Integrating Pebblescout and Other Similar SRA (Sequence Read Archive) Search Indexes into Computational Workflows
• Building Knowledge Graphs to Capture Disease Sub-Typing and Subsequent Drug Efficacy Information
• 2022 Example Projects
• Iterative Cluster Analysis Using Multi-Omics Modalities Leveraging Open Data Available from the Gabriella Miller Kids First Data Resource and the INCLUDE Data Hub
• Creating Computable Knowledge from Unstructured Information
• NCATS Biomedical Data Translator
• Visualization of NCBI ALFA Variants
• 2019 Example Projects
• BioAssay Express: Applying FAIR Principles to Bioassay Protocols
• The Broad Institute’s Single-Cell RNA-Seq Data Set
• Bringing the Power of Synthetic Data Generation to the Masses
• DOE JGI Genomics Data Set

Integrating Globus into Galaxy to Enable FAIRifying Data

Stay Tuned for 2026 Project Information

For more details on the Hackathon, please contact:
The CFDE Training Center at cfde-trainingcenter@orau.org